-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Even though the Ryder Cup prize ceremony took place at Medinah long after the sun had set , the staggering nature of Europe 's triumph eclipsed the gloom -- and left many golf fans wondering how the visiting side had recorded the most remarkable comeback in the competition 's 85-year history .

Trailing 10-4 at one point on Saturday , and 10-6 as Sunday 's singles got underway , the team led by Spain 's Jose Maria Olazabal defied the odds to win a record eight-and-a-half points on the final day and thus the trophy itself .

As darkness enveloped Medinah Country Club in Chicago , Europe 's captain Olazabal talked of how the spirit of Seve Ballesteros had been key to his team 's success .

Inspirational and flamboyant , Ballesteros won five major championships , revolutionized the European Tour and revelled in the passion of a Ryder Cup battle with the United States . He died in 2011 after a long battle with cancer .

`` Our team played in the spirit of Seve without ever giving up , '' Olazabal said .

For leadership and teamwork specialist Khoi Tu -- a man who has advised Formula 1 champions and some of the world 's leading companies -- the spirit of Ballesteros hung heavy over the European team .

`` The thing that Europe had -- distinct to the United States -- was the notion of playing for Seve , and teams are often at their best when playing for an idea , '' says Tu , whose book ` Superteams ' will be published next month .

`` I 'm not sure the U.S. did a lot wrong . But since the contest was so close , the key differentiator could be the ` Seve ' idea . After all , could the power and pulling together of the U.S. team match his story ?

`` Like most sports , golf is a combination of will and skill and at this level , the will is often more important than the skill .

`` The differentiator here was Seve had played a role in all the European players ' lives and would have meant something for many of them . ''

As Spaniards and fellow professionals , Olazabal and Ballesteros shared a strong bond before the latter 's death last year .

On the course , the Spanish pair formed Europe 's most dyanmaic Ryder Cup partnership -LRB- with 12 points gained from their 15 matches -RRB- and Olazabal ensured his late compatriot was never far from any of his team 's minds this week by strategically placing his image on the players ' clothing and bags .

With Justin Rose looking up to the heavens in triumph , Sergio Garcia suggesting that Seve ` was with me all day ' after his win and Europe 's star man Ian Poulter saying he owed his presence on the team to Ballesteros , Olazabal 's unorthodox approach to captaincy produced compelling results .

The 46-year-old may have lacked the organizational ability of previous European captain Colin Montgomerie , whose side triumphed in another nail biting clash in Wales two years ago , but he compensated in other areas , says Tu .

`` Compared to Montgomerie , Olazabal was all about emotion -- connecting with individuals on a very visceral level , '' he said .

`` Montgomerie was about thorough preparation and leaving no detail unturned in an attempt to ensure the players were given the best platform to produce victory .

`` This year , people felt emotionally connected to Olazabal and his ability to translate that Seve factor was very powerful .

`` His organization was n't perhaps the best though , given what happened with Rory McIlroy , '' referring to the world No. 1 nearly missing his tee-off slot on Sunday after confusing his time zones .

The Northern Irishman eventually made it onto the course just 10 minutes before he was scheduled to start thanks to a siren-wailing police escort from the team hotel to Medinah .

Despite that glitch , Tu believes Olazabal built a team where belief became an intrinsic value and where his man management skills produced inspired results .

`` Olazabal did do some interesting structural things -- such as choosing Poulter as a wild card , '' says Tu . `` Poulter has a brilliant Ryder Cup record and his infectious attitude will only ever amplify the belief in others . ''

Tu highlighted the way in which Martin Kaymer put a disappointing season behind him to emerge as the effective match-winner , as the German coolly sank a pressurized putt on the 18th to beat Steve Stricker and ensure that Europe retained the Ryder Cup .

`` Teams play for a leader , '' says Tu . `` The worst leader of Europe in recent times was 2008 captain Nick Faldo , who told Lee Westwood in the middle of a round that he would not be playing the next day .

`` Compare that to Olazabal 's management of Kaymer , who was not in great form coming into the tournament and who did n't play on the Saturday either .

`` Somehow , Olazabal managed to turn a potential weakness into a positive , by stressing to Kaymer that his absence on Saturday was a sacrifice for the team 's greater good .

`` This would have liberated Kaymer -- and just look at the way both he and Stricker handled the pressure in their clash late on .

`` A lot of small things combined to tip Europe into the belief they could win and as the scores came through , their momentum became unstoppable .

`` This momentum helped Kaymer -- and so did the Seve influence , as he was playing with something beyond himself . Stricker saw the increasing blue on the scoreboard and began to feel the pressure .

`` It 's a fine line between that pressure either being turned into a positive or negative , but Stricker knew everyone was relying on him -- which became pretty tough pressure -- and the game just ran away from him . ''

Stricker 's misery was compounded by the fact he was the only player among the two dozen involved who failed to win a point all week -- a statistic that history will not look kindly upon as Americans try to understand how they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory .

The Wall Street Journal is already debating this , with the newspaper pointing an accusatory finger at the decision by U.S. captain Davis Love III to select Stricker as one of his four wild cards .

`` The better questions to ask might be how teams from Europe consistently pull rabbits out of their hats at these Ryder Cups . Europe has now won two in a row , five of the past six and seven of the past nine , '' the paper wrote on Monday .

`` If it were just this U.S. team that lost when on paper it seemed to have the better players , the blame might be easier to assign . But that 's not the case . ''

For Tu , the answer is simple .

`` The Europeans were playing for each other , for their leaders and for a purpose -- Seve . ''

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Europe staged a stunning fightback to snatch the Ryder Cup from U.S. grasp

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The U.S. had seemingly built up an unassailable lead before huge turnaround

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Leadership specialist tells CNN memory of Seve Ballesteros drove Europeans on

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European captain Jose Maria Olazabal was close friend of late Spaniard